Review: This new collaboration between Swedish producer Civilistjavel! and Lebanese artist Mayssa Jallad is both a conceptual inversion and a sonic ghost of Jallad's original record. Refracting material from her Beirut-focused album through sparse dub techno, Civilistjavel! transforms narrative-rich compositions into abstract, often beatless forms where Mayssa's voice floats disembodied in a fog of delay and reverb. Tracks like 'Baynana (Version)' and 'Holiday Inn (March 21 to 29) (Version)' feel haunted by memory, with structure hinted at but rarely resolved. It's a remarkable shift in context, but one that remains emotionally aligned. Civilistjavel!'s production avoids spectacle in favour of slow erosionivocal fragments hover, dissolve, re-emerge. Even more rhythmic moments like 'Kharita (Dub)' maintain an eerie restraint, built on slippery grooves and shimmering decay. Both artists are working far from their geographic homesiMayssa in Boston, Tomas in Uppsalaibut the result sounds uncannily unified. It's a record that holds grief and beauty in the same hand, illuminating the quiet force of Mayssa's voice and Civilistjavel!'s deft minimalism. Not so much a remix album as a parallel reality: austere, spectral, and deeply moving.
Review: "In Rainbows", Radiohead's seventh album, finally gets a physical release! It's one thing downloading this landmark album, but to actually hold this is something special. Not only do you get increased sound quality, but you also get the amazing artwork from Stanley Donwood. This album includes "Nude", a live favourite for many years that was originally written during the "OK Computer" sessions. More minimal that their "Kid A" period, "In Rainbows" does something that very few albums have done - its sound is distinct from previous Radiohead albums, but is still clearly Radiohead. Hail to the kings, they are back on top form.
Review: Hayden Pedigo has always defied expectations and conventions. In a world of instant gratification, his music is both immediately enthralling but only truly rewarding for the more patient and deep listener. He's fused to the very core of the instrumental acoustic guitar canon, and yet seems hellbent on putting out record after record of, frankly, incomparable music. In his own words, I'll Be Waving As You Walk Away is "a micro-dose psychedelic album. I wanted it to be this tangible feeling, as if somebody had cut up a tab of LSD and put on a Fahey record." The trip itself is largely thanks to the technical genius at work here, with six strings manipulated in such ways as you often feel entire chasms of melody are opening up for you to fall into, Alice style.
Review: Stephen Vitiello, Brendan Canty and Hahn Rowe pull strings in strange and rewarding directions on Second, the chameleonic follow-up to their 2023 debut piece First. Vitiello, having left behind a vista's trail of ambient, lowercase and electroacoustic work with the likes of Taylor Deupree and Pauline Oliveros, now sketches raw forms with Rhodes, guitar and modular gear before looping in Canty and Rowe. The former adds drums, bass and piano with typical restlessness; the latter, once of Hugo Largo, folds in bowed guitar, viola and 12-string textures. There's a thread of freeform drift here, but it's sotted in dub weight, Krautrock pulse and post-punk lean. "We're coming from three different schools," Vitiello notes. Throw in a guest spot from Animal Collective's Geologist on hurdy gurdy, and it's a strange little world built on sideways logic.
Review: Superior Viaduct and W.25TH present Diamond Jubilee by Cindy Lee, now available in a deluxe 3xLP format with a collectible poster. Lauded across the board and shortlisted for the 2024 Polaris Music Prize, Diamond Jubilee showcases Patrick Flegel's unique blend of haunting melodies and raw emotion. Crafted over years in studios from Toronto to Montreal, this album delivers timeless reflections on love and longing, backed by sticky hooks and immersive soundscapes that cement Cindy Lee's reputation as a standout in experimental pop.
Review: American industrial kings Swans' latest offering unfurls across a sprawling 19-minute journey, building a tension that is as much about space as it is about sound. The first half, marked by 'The Healers' and 'I Am A Tower,' feels like an unyielding force, as if the music itself is evolving into something beyond human comprehension. Gira's voice, thick with grit, clashes with the deep rumble of guitars, creating a rhythm that seems to pulse from a primal core. The journey picks up momentum through 'Red Yellow' and 'Guardian Spirit,' where the sound bends and twists, its drone-like qualities alternately lulling and unsettling. By the time 'Away' takes hold, the track feels less like a song and more like an emotional release, with each successive wave stripping something away, leaving raw, exposed moments in their wake. A visceral experience that demands patience and reflection, with each track revealing layers of complexity.
Review: Alan Sparhawk isn't one for large crowds or the showy side of fame, yet over the course of his career, his influence has expanded far beyond his low-key persona. As the frontman of Low, the band he founded in the early 90s in Duluth, Minnesota, Sparhawk's distinct style has permeated not just indie rock but also the broader sphere of music that prizes depth over spectacle. The hallmark of Sparhawk's songwriting is the austere, almost minimalist beauty he coaxes from the sparsest of arrangements. His approach to music is inextricable from his sense of placeiDuluth's biting winters, its isolationieverything about the environment feeds into the slow-moving intensity of Low's sound. Musically, the album moves through a variety of textures, from the folk-tinged melodies of 'Heaven' and 'Get Still' to the raw emotional power of 'Screaming Song' and 'Don't Take Your Light.' The latter is particularly stirring, with its swelling fiddles and cello lines, embodying the depth of feeling that pours out during the recording. There's a certain urgency to the musician immediacy that comes from being in a room full of people who understand what it means to create together. The track 'Stranger' is imbued with an intimate, communal spirit, while 'Torn & in Ashes' builds on layers of banjo and mandolin, giving it a rich, earthy feel. Even as the sounds shift, there's an underlying consistency in the raw honesty of Sparhawk's voice and the way the band responds to it. Overall, the record a sense of continuity, reminding us that music, when made with those closest to you, becomes a vessel for lasting memories and support.
Review: Southend's These New Puritans have a rare ability to create goosebump-inducing music. A big part of is is Jack Barnett's voice, which is truly up there with the likes of Thom Yorke and Hayden Thorpe's in terms of being able to tug at the heartstrings and create grandiose spellbinding atmospheres. Plus, the arrangements that accompany it are of elite level and taste. This new album is their fifth studio album since forming in 2006 and offers plenty in the way of diversity. 'A Season In Hell' is a wild mix of industrial, organ music, trip-hop and choir sounds. Elsewhere, 'Bells' is less intense and let's the atmosphere form gradually and luxuriously. If you want a record to properly blow your socks off, let it be this.
Review: Brian Eno's career has always been about explorationiof sound, technology and the emotional power of music. After pioneering ambient music, Eno has consistently sought out new ways to blend different genres and voices and his latest collaboration with Beatie Wolfe continues this tradition. Wolfe, a British-American artist with an innovative approach to music and activism, complements Eno's atmospheric world with her emotive, alternative vocals. Their work, recorded in London, moves seamlessly from the meditative to the experimental, with tracks like 'Big Empty Country' offering stark contrasts between the brightness of the day and the shadows of the night. This release is not only a nod to Eno's sonic experimentation but also a testament to his lasting influence as an artist who always seeks to connect art with broader societal issues, especially the environment.
Review: Brian Eno, a towering figure in ambient music and a master of sonic landscapes, has shaped the contours of modern music through his production collaborations with iconic artists like David Bowie, Talking Heads and U2. His latest work with Beatie Wolfe, a conceptual artist from Los Angeles, encapsulates a career of endless reinvention. Recorded in London, the collaboration weaves together the worlds of alternative vocals and ambient soundscapes. 'Big Empty Country' serves as a vivid contrast between light and darkiits day and night versions embodying the very essence of Eno's immersive, evolving sound. Much like his work as part of Roxy Music and beyond, this release is both forward-thinking and introspective, grounded in a shared commitment to environmentalism and artistic exploration. It's a meditation on space, sound and feelingian unbroken thread in Eno's enduring legacy of artistic expression.
Review: A second joining of forces from two celebrated Chicago acts, blending deep, organic rhythms with a minimalistic electronic pulse. With the novel but logical addition of Jason Stein on bass clarinet, the collaboration stretches even further, pulling together the spiritual fluidity of Natural Information Society and the electronic minimalism of Bitchin Bajas. The first single, 'Clock no Clock,' is a deep dive into hypnotic rhythms, with guimbri grooves intertwining seamlessly with electronic bursts, flutes and organs. The other three tracks are equally compelling, the music unfolding like a living organism, constantly shifting but always grounded. Expansive, intricately woven sonic delights.
Review: South London's potent indie auteur Heartworms unveils her highly anticipated debut album here on Speedy Wunderground. It has been produced by longtime collaborator Dan Carey and fuses the driving, motorik energy of Depeche Mode with PJ Harvey's sharp lyrical prowess, and is finished off with the offbeat rhythms of dance-punk favourites LCD Soundsystem. The result is a dark, intense sonic assault that is unmistakably Heartworms in the way it blends gothic post-punk with unashamed emotion and relentless momentum. It once again proves why Heartworms is one of the most exciting new voices in alternative music.
Review: If Inside the Rose, the fourth album from These New Puritans, was a long-winded production process - spanning six years of work - but saw the Essex outfit return with immediate force, the follow up is much more of a slow-burner at the consumption end. It's a stranger, more experimental and, arguably, visionary example of what these guys do best. And it couldn't feel more engrossing. Deep, immersive, almost ceremonial, powerfully uplifting ('Bells' is particularly life-affirming stuff), it saturates you in gorgeous emotional indie-choral-chimes, and sucks you into these gripping narratives that fall somewhere between swooning electronic, drummy alternative rock and a place which is really only These New Puritans.
Review: Epic alert! New York industrial gods Swans' latest single is a 19-minute behemoth that unfurls like an overwhelming emotional landscape. Gira's gravelly voice takes centre stage, enveloped by the steady churn of droning guitars and atmospheric textures that build to a blistering intensity. 'The Healers' and 'I Am A Tower' highlight the band's mastery of long-form tension, each section holding, stretching, and twisting in a way that feels like a momentary release, only to be swallowed by the next wave. It's a slow, deliberate unfolding of sound that's both hypnotic and punishing. This isn't music for the passive listener; it's exhausting yet utterly immersive, teasing out tension and reflection in equal measure. If you didn't know already, consider yoursefl warned.
Review: Brian Eno, legendary master of ambient music and Beatie Wolfe, the LA-based conceptual artist known for her innovative blend of the physical and digital, unite for a collaborative sonic exploration. Throughout 2024, the two artists recorded material that bridges the boundary between deeply personal emotions and universal experiences, creating an evocative soundscape. The work pulses with the distinctive energy of Eno's ambient prowess, while Wolfe's haunting vocals add a layer of intimacy. On tracks like 'Milky Sleep' and 'Hopelessly At Ease', the listener is swept into a dreamlike state where time feels suspended. These moments of calm are balanced by the more urgent, yet still deeply meditative, 'Suddenly', which sways between serenity and tension. The delicate interplay between light and shadow becomes even more palpable on 'A Ceiling and Lifeboat', where the quiet sense of stillness gives way to a profound sense of rebirth. There's a sense of movement throughout the releaseiparticularly on 'Breath March', where rhythm and texture converge with palpable energy. Eno's atmospheric layers create space for Wolfe's voice to become a thread, guiding the listener through these reflective, almost sacred-feeling sonic spaces, where every note invites introspection and feeling.
Review: The Durutti Column prove just how fertile the North West England music scene was during the mid-late-1970s and through the 1980s. Taking their name from an anarchist military movement active during the Spanish Civil War, the band was formed by Vini Reilly, who brought together a bunch of players from the nascent punk and post punk scene, and managed to turn heads in the process. One of which was Tony Wilson. One of the first acts to sign to his now-legendary Factory Records, they would remain on the imprint until its demise, by which time the project had become a solo thing for Reilly, whose name was already shorthand for risk taking with bold ideas. Take this record, for example, veering from Southern Mediterranean folk to experimental indie, sample-based rock-opera and more, it still defies expectations.
Review: You might remember David Grubbs from Squirrel Bait, Bistro, or Gastr de Sol. Codeine, The Red Krayola, Bitch Magnet or The Wingdale Community Singers. New wave or punk. His own output or that of the label he runs, Blue Chopsticks. Whatever reference rings truest, the American composer, guitarist, pianist and vocalist is an enigma responsible for a broad back catalogue of credits, projects, experiments and other. Whistle From Above lands in February 2025 and immediately proves Grubbs' continued genius and refusal to sit still. According to the limited information we have, he began developing these new guitar pieces - best described as somewhere between Fender drone, ambient noise, and musique concrete - following "months of shutdown woodshedding" in which he became "reinvigorated". What resulted was a deep dive into some personal solo arrangements and opportunities to engage with fellow sonic explorers - Rhodri Davies, Andrea Belfi, Nikos Veliotis, Nate Wooley and Cleek Schrey.
Review: Out of stoner rock miasma traipse David Eugene Edwards (Wovenhand, 16 Horsepower) and Al Cisneros (OM, Sleep) with two new sludge-offs, 'Pillar Of Fire' and 'Capernaum'. With leeward, mountainous horror vacui depicted on the front cover - and a 10" press signifying that the musicians intend for this to be a maestro's statement, not too invested in the magnanimity of a full LP and yet still knowing full well that you'll lap up the sense of terse completion such a record promises - these tracks are estivate delights, both their meditative experimental-bass workings evoking barren, anxious wanderlust.
Review: Brooklyn-based Model/Actriz, a four-piece rock band formed in 2016, return with an electrifying new chapter in their career. Frontman Cole Haden, guitarist Jack Wetmore, bassist Aaron Shapiro, and drummer Ruben Radlauer have forged a sound that merges post-punk aggression with noise rock's raw energy. Their latest release is a visceral, direct exploration of both the visceral chaos of their live shows and the darker, more introspective side of their sound. After their debut album Dogsbody earned critical acclaim in 2023, they've recalibrated their approach, opting for a more stripped-down and immediate experience. Tracks like 'Cinderella' and 'Acid Rain' charge forward with the kind of club-ready energy that makes their performances unforgettable, while 'Doves' and 'Audience' offer hauntingly introspective moments. Model/Actriz's commitment to blending queer themes with explosive music continues, pushing boundaries in both their lyrics and sound.
Review: Wisp's debut EP, Pandora, shows off her understanding of modern shoegaze. This release has garnered significant attention and when you heat it, it'll be clear why. The standout single, 'Your Face,' opens with crashing drums and ethereal guitar leads, perfectly complemented by Wisp's dreamy, drowsy vocal effect. The track's structure and key changes between verses create a stunning listening experience. Pandora and the reflective atmosphere are breathtaking with Wisp's gentle soprano and shinning shoegaze guitar. Although the lyrics may meander, the overall sonic impact is undeniable. 'Luna,' a highlight of the EP, blends dreamy and reverb-drenched vocals with influences from Slowdive and Candy Claws. The balance between instrumental focus and vocal presence is exceptional. 'See You Soon' stands out lyrically, with poignant lines and an overdriven indie lead. The closing track, 'Mimi,' impresses with its clean vocals and unique writing with the best lyrical content on the project. In Pandora, Wisp delivers a collection of tracks that effortlessly blend wistful melodies with her breathy voice, creating a dreamy shoegaze experience. As debuts go, this is pretty spectacular.
Review: Alcest's latest album Les Chants de L'Aurore' is a transcendent journey amidst the chaos of modernity. Originating in the quaint French town of Bagnols-sur-Ceze, Alcest, led by the visionary Neige, defy the confines of heavy music by blending darkness with radiant light. Since their groundbreaking debut in 2007, they've captivated with a unique fusion of beauty and extreme metal, influencing a generation of "blackgaze" artists. Released amidst global turmoil in 2019, Les Chants de L'Aurore now arrives on vinyl and emerges as a beacon of hope. Recorded intimately yet expansively, it reinvigorates Alcest's signature sound for a new era. Amid existential reflections, Neige crafts euphoric melodies, counteracting darkness with love and positivity. Five years in the making, this album represents a profound evolution, resonating with both gentle charm and fierce conviction. In a world hungry for solace, Les Chants de L'Aurore offers a sanctuary of beauty.
Review: Homaging mutuality in a robust creative dialogue, More Eaze and Claire Rousay add another flash of brilliance to a mesmerising string of allegorical LPs. Both born in San Antonio, Texas, Rousay and Eaze (Mari Maurice) riff (literally) on strummed country and noise rock echoes, reflecting an uptick in electronica artists sound-repainting the lonesome grasslands and desert great plains of the mid Southern United States. Yet on No Floor, there is an ardent sci-fi leitmotif too, producing a techno-realist vision reminiscent of a Texan Death Stranding and/or Simon Stalenhag painting. From 'kinda tropical' to 'limelight, actually' we hear shortgrass droughts, short-wave police radio chatter, and the bootup zaps of a beaten up pocket survivo-droid, as it scans the semidesert we alone must brave.
Review: Originally released in 2005, Feral Hymns would serve as the 11th (and true final) full-length from Washington D.C. devout Dischord Records alumni Lungfish. Having released every album apart from their debut with Minor Threat/Fugazi visionary Ian MacKaye's label, they were easily one of the longest lasting on the roster when considering the longevity of their peers and labelmates in say Jawbox or Shudder To Think. Continuing their consistent aura of experimental first wave emo stripped down to caustic, murky minimalist compositions, the material sticks to their established formula but embittered by the passage of time, while the commitment to their signature style is also more illuminating in hindsight, as the group would semi-disband, or at least cease writing/recording following this release, with members branching off into other projects. While 2012's A.C.R. 1999 is often perceived as their 12th LP, that release was comprised of older recording sessions, making it technically a compilation and Feral Hymns their definitive swansong.
Review: Dead Meadow's latest offering marks a major leap forward for the legendary American psychedelic trio, blending their signature sound with new emotional depth. While their past albums have dazzled with expansive, mind-melting riffs and heavy cosmic grooves, this release brings a raw, introspective energy that highlights their lasting presence in the psych-rock world. Tracks like 'The Space Between' and 'A Wave Away' show the band experimenting with softer, more reflective moments, balancing their traditionally heavy sound with delicate, expansive textures. Drummer Mark Laughlin delivers some of his best performances yet, especially on 'Dead Tree Shake,' while the influence of late bassist Steve Kille is strongly felt throughout. His final contributions are heard in the powerful closing track, 'Voyager to Voyager,' where his artistry resonates deeply. This album proves Dead Meadow are evolving i not just in their sound, but in the essence of what continues to make them a standout act in modern psychedelic rock.
We use cookies to personalise content and ads, to provide social media features and to analyse our traffic. We also share information about your use of our site with our social media, advertising and analytics partners who may combine it with other information that you've provided to them or that they've collected from your use of their services.